Kashena Sampson – Phases
Nashville-based powerhouse Kashena Sampson has released “Phases” from her upcoming album, Ghost Of Me.
“Phases” is about releasing the tendency to people-please and the fear of rejection. It’s a spell of self-reflection, a way of honoring all sides of oneself, the light and the shadow. “Like the moon, we all go through phases, and I’ve come to see how always trying to please everyone and never rocking the boat only led to self-abandonment,” she explains. “This song is a ritual and affirmation for letting go of what no longer serves me. I finally grew brave enough to say, ‘I’m done with that charade.’ I’m done giving myself away just to keep the peace. It’s okay to get mad, to say no, to change your mind, to walk away. In fact, it’s not only okay, it’s empowering.”
“Phases” follows “Ghost Of Me” and “Rearview Mirror.”
Sampson turns a new page with her third record, Ghost Of Me. Produced by Grammy-nominated musician, producer, and composer Jon Estes, Ghost Of Me is a psychedelic folk-rock album that pulls up Sampson’s Americana roots and digs deep beneath the surface, uncovering the darker indie sounds that once provided the soundtrack to her childhood. Laced with electric guitar, reverb, and synthesizer, her latest effort offers a new backdrop for the songwriting and otherworldly singing of an East Nashville luminary who’s never sounded more authentic.
Ghost Of Me is structured like a ritual under the phases of the moon, a cycle of letting go, calling in, and rising again. That arc is felt across both the tracklist and the album’s release timeline, which intentionally aligns key singles and events with lunar milestones. “Rear View Mirror” arrived on July 25, just after the July 24 new moon. Built around crashing cymbals and guitarist B.L. Reed’s power chords, the song drives forward with the force of personal reckoning. The title track, lands in time for new moon intention-setting on August 23, embracing the theme of transformation at the heart of the record. On September 19, “Phases” emerges ahead of a rare September 21 convergence of the solar eclipse, new moon, and International Day of Peace, a moment echoed in the song’s psychedelic swirl and lunar howl. September 22 is the Fall Equinox, bringing with it a powerful time of reflection, growth, and new beginnings. The full album will be unveiled on October 3, just ahead of the full moon on October 6, which culminates the record’s lunar journey.
Ghost Of Me spans genres, emotional depths, and astrological tides. “This is an album about ignoring the bullshit and doing what’s authentic to me,” she explains. “Forget the rat race. Forget the bad relationships. Forget trying to please everybody. I’m tired of doing that. I wanted to do something for myself, and that’s what Ghost Of Me became,” she continues. “It’s an album for me.”
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